AFCON 2021: Group D Round Up

The second round of fixtures have been played in the AFCON Group D with Nigeria racing to the top of the table and Sudan rooted to the bottom.

Nigeria vs Sudan

Nigeria faced Sudan in the second round of fixtures in Cameroon. The Super Eagles fresh from a commanding victory against Egypt, rushed to an early against their opponents via a Samuel Chukwueze strike.

Nigeria soon doubled their lead through Union Berlin striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, to go into the break with a 2-0 advantage.

Shortly after the restart, a brilliant individual run by Moses Simon ended in a goal to put the Super Eagles three goals ahead.

Sudan had some respite late on when VAR awarded them a penalty for a foul by Ola Aina in the Super Eagles box.

Walieldin Khidir stepped forward to take it and sent Maduka Okoye the wrong way to score the Falcons of Jediane’s maiden goal of the tournament.

The match ended 3-1 in favour of Nigeria who have hence qualified to the knockout stages with six points having won both their fixtures.

Sudan on the other hand remain bottom with a point which they accrued from their previous fixture against Guinea Bissau which ended in a draw.

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Guinea Bissau vs Egypt

Guinea Bissau were looking to get more points than they have in the match up against Egypt on Saturday. Unfortunately for them, it was the Pharaohs who reigned supreme defeating them by a lone goal.

It was a fairly even encounter as both sides tried to inflict damage on the other. However, despite the changes, neither side could take the lead in the first half.

The deadlock was broken in the second half when Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah finished a lofted pass from El Solia to give his side the lead.

Mama Balde thought he had levelled things up for Guinea Bissau in the closing stages of the game but his goal was ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up.

Egypt ended the match as winners, securing their first points of the competition and taking up the second spot in Group D.

The Way Things Stand in AFCON Group D:

Nigeria are at the top of Group D with six points and have earned automatic qualification to the knockout stages with a game to spare.

Egypt are second place with three points having failed to win their first match and only winning their second. They have not qualified but a win in their final group stage game would take them through to the next round.

Guinea Bissau sit third with a point and a goal difference of -1. They will need to win their last fixture against Nigeria to stand any chance of qualifying.

Sudan are bottom of Group D with a point and a goal difference of -2. They will need to win their last game against Egypt to boost their chances of qualification.

Which other team in Group D will join Nigeria in the knockout stages? Let us know in the comment section.

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